OVAS Annual Giant Auction – Sunday, April 9th

Everyone is welcome! An OVAS club membership is not required to attend the auction as buyer or seller.

Auction schedule

Item registration and viewing starts at 9:00am.
All items to be auctioned off must be registered by 10:30am.
No new items will be accepted after 10:30am. We encourage anyone to pre-register items online.
The auction will start at 11:00am sharp.

We are planning 15 min breaks every 90min depending on auction progress.
The auction will close once the last item is auctioned off. The duration will depend on the number of items registered. In the past years we finished around 4-5pm.
Please allow 15min processing time after closing after which we will pay out the vendors.

General auction information

All items will be assigned a random table number during registration. OVAS will provide labels for all pre-registered items to all vendors. The vendors will hand all labeled items to the OVAS staff to be placed on the proper table in the viewing area. The tables are then auctioned off in random order, which we will draw at the beginning of the auction.

The starting bid for each item is $2 unless a minimum starting bid is indicated on the label. We encourage everyone to keep their arms raised if they intend to bid on an item in order to speed up the entire auction. The highest bidder will win the bid. Any won bid must be claimed and paid immediately by the bidder. We accept cash payment only.

You have the option to prioritize items if you wish to bid or auction off items at the start of the auction, or at any time during the auction. There is a fee of $1 per item, which must be paid before the item is prioritized.

Item registration and auction rules

This is an all-aquatic auction for fresh- and saltwater livestock like fish, plants and invertebrates (corals, shrimp, molluscs) as well as aquatic dry goods in new or used good condition. However, the items listed hereafter are not permitted at the auction:

• Used heaters and air pumps
• Used light bulbs of any kind
• Used airline tubing
• Plastic plants

Any registered item listed above will be automatically removed from the auction list.

We encourage you to use our: online registration

In the event that you have problems with the online registration you can can contact me under auctions@ovas.ca.

OVAS will provide pre-printed labels for each item during the registration period before the auction. The vendor assures to provide the correct description for each item. Correct item labeling is the vendor’s responsibility as well.

Please provide the following information during registration:

• Item description
• For hardware only: new or used
• Minimum bid (optional) – if you prefer a starting bid higher than $2. See rules below.
• Priority item (optional) – for items to be auctioned off at the beginning. $1/item surcharge applies.
• OVAS donation (optional) – the club receives 100% commission for this item.

The following rules apply for item registration and auction:

• The pre-registration deadline is 8pm Saturday April 8th.
• Any pre-registered item will be charged 25% commission.
• Items registered after the pre-registration deadline will be charged 40% commission. OVAS members will be charged 32.5% commission. NO EXCEPTIONS.
• The maximum limit for identical items is 3. Please group your items accordingly.
• You can register more than 3 identical items if you chose to donate these items to the club. Please indicate this during registration, or we will automatically remove any item that exceeds the maximum limit.
• Each single vendor is allowed to register a total maximum of 100 items.
• OVAS will keep a handling charge for any unsold item of:
  • $1.00 for any regular listed item that did not sell.
  • $2.00 for any unsold item with a minimum bid of up to $20.
  • 10% of minimum bid for any unsold item with a minimum bid higher than $20.
• Any un-sold item must be claimed by the owner at the end of the auction. Un-claimed items become property of OVAS.
• OVAS will keep a handling charge of $1 for each pre-registered item that is not registered and/or entered at the auction. Please return any item label that is not being used to the auction registration immediately!  We allow a maximum of 5 missing items (or 10% of total items registered, whatever is higher) at the auction. Any additional missing items will be charged a handling fee. This rule is meant to overcome excessive registrations; keep in mind that we will be preparing labels for you.
• All fish/livestock MUST be packaged appropriately. See below.
• Once an item is registered and placed in the auction it may not be removed.

You will receive 1 free raffle ticket for any started lot of 10 registered items. This means, if you register a total of 23 items, you will receive 3 raffle tickets, for a total of 7 items you would receive 1 ticket.

To encourage pre-registration you will be awarded 2 additional raffle tickets if your register your items (at least 75%) before Wednesday April 5th midnight 11:59pm.

Additional information

Item identification
OVAS will provide labels with a short description entered during registration. The vendor can add additional label to further highlight the item and provide additional information for the seller. In many cases this also helps to sell an item better. Please apply the labels clearly visible on each item.

Item Packaging and Presentation
Please package your items carefully! Pails can break; bags can break – just to mention a few possibilities. Keep in mind that clean items will be more desirable.

All fish and livestock placed in the auction MUST be packaged appropriately. Please refer to the bagging instructions on our website.

• Fish bags are the preferred method.
• Closed glass jars are accepted, but should be avoided for safety reasons.
• Closed plastic buckets may be used for bigger fish.
• Any bag/container must be sized appropriately.
• Clearly diseased or deformed fish will not be accepted at the auction.
• No native fish or protected species may be sold at the auction.
• OVAS reserves the right to refuse any item that we consider not properly packaged.

So please: do not show up with open jars and fish in questionable condition. Keep in mind that these guidelines are in the best interest if the fish. Proper bagging is essential to avoid any further stress on the fish; improper bagging can lead to death even before the fish is auctioned off. Always ask yourself if you would be willing to buy the fish/item that you are bringing to the auction.

A bagging station will be available for you in case of emergency. The cost is $1 per bag, paid in advance to the bagger.

Vendor payment
Please see the auction chair 15 minutes after the auction to be cashed out.  You will be provided a receipt, which you will first check, then sign and take to the Treasurer for payment.

If you are unable to stay to the end of the auction please contact the auction chair. You will be mailed a check within 14 days at a cost of $1.